


Black Cat

by magnipisika16



Category: Trese (Comics)
Genre: F/M, happy happy birthday my dear~, it's OC x OC, this is for mah gal Cara~, this is really just a gift for my friend, why am I even explaining myself
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-14
Updated: 2015-06-14
Packaged: 2018-04-04 07:55:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,652
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4130355
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/magnipisika16/pseuds/magnipisika16
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alex's maternal cousin, Isagani Trinidad, makes a request to simply borrow her car to accompany a friend from overseas from NAIA, but everything starts going for the weird as he makes a turn by the Roxas Boulevard and is met by a black cat passing in front of his vehicle.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Black Cat

Black Cat—

The moon shines upon the port of Manila that lies along Roxas Boulevard well, but it still leaves certain areas of it in the dark.

Not a soul from the liveliness of Manila Bay at day trails along its brown roads and small patches of grasslands at night. No joyful chatters of tourists and staffs alike or loud motor noises coming from vehicles, big or small.

Everything is succumbed to peace and quiet save for the soft, almost inaudible pitter-patter of the creature’s paw as it treads along the baywalk, its small yet nimble limbs flexing its muscles carefully, almost deliberately. Its ears twitched, as if searching for a sound. A whimper. A call.

Rustles were heard from a nearby bush, and the small ball of pure black is on the run again, its wide, yellow, saucer-like eyes navigating its way effectively through the dense path of greeneries and shrubs. However, no matter how fast it runs or how high it leaps, it cannot lower down or erase the sound of the rogue footsteps that tailed it so religiously.

It’s as if the footsteps now live in its head.

“Hurry!”

“I’m trying! I’m trying! It ain’t that easy runnin’ with all these bushes in my way!”

“Well, it won’t be easy runnin’ either when you have bullets instead of bushes! Now put your back into it! Romney and his car shouldn’t be far from here!”

The creature is suddenly stopped in its tracks as two pairs of legs suddenly emerge on its path. Without thinking and relying everything on its reflex, the creature swerves to another direction—regardless of where—and continued running, its tail between its hind legs. Its ears twitch once more as it detected the strange noise that escaped one of the pairs of legs.

“ _Ay_! What was that?! A rat?!”

“Too big to be a rat, _tanga_!” A loud smack. “That was a cat, you fool!”

“A black cat…?”

“Yes! A black cat!”

“Then shouldn’t we be turning the other direction?”

“What in blazes are you talking about?!”

“I-It’s an old teaching my late grandma used to tell us… Never tread the same path if a black cat passes by you… It’s bad luck!”

“We’re gonna be in bad luck if the police catch us, now go! Romney should be right around the…”

The sound of high-pitched screeching, agonized screaming, and loud sirens halts the creature. It turns to where it has come from and found that the white pavement road was now covered in crimson gold. More loud sirens. Soft murmurs. Light footsteps.

But other than that, everything was still.

Now that the creature thinks about it, the heavy footsteps from before are now gone from its head, like how they always do at the strike of death.

Whatever “death” means.

The creature, with its wide, saucer-like eyes, blinked twice at the scene, taking in the image of gold upon crimson before it closes them shut as it yawns. Then it turns to the other direction and leaps forward, losing itself in the seas of shrubs and greenery.

Nothing above the ordinary for a small, pilous creature of pure black such as itself.  Nothing above the ordinary for an almost empty bay such as this place. Nothing above the ordinary for a late evening such as tonight.

These wide, saucer-like eyes have seen plenty far too many times—things far worse and far more crimsoned. Things it would rather leave unexplained to the self.

But of course—the moon may lighten well, but it still leaves certain things in the dark.

-…-

Malate, Manila. The Diabolical. Home of the best _kapeng barako_ , according to the locals who often find themselves adrift and finding solace in said nightclub. They say that though the scent of delicious and strong black coffee is what invites you to come in through the doors, it is the people and the various stories they have to tell that enthralls you to stay.

There are many interesting individuals you can bump into in said establishment: there is Hank, the all-time favorite bartender who can also whip up a tasty variety of your most favorite _pulutan_ —most people come to him for his renowned version of _sisig_. Many ask for the recipe, but Hank would consider keeping it a secret—something the Diabolical has plenty: untamed secrets. Unspoken truths.

Perhaps this is what one would consider the most enticing.

Hank is probably the most you can get familiar with as he never leaves his post for too long, and is always the one who greets the customer, regardless whether he or she is a newcomer or an old-timer.

If you’re lucky enough, you may also catch a glimpse of the _Kambal_ , the handsome twins who sometimes go around the club, socializing with the customers—especially the good-looking women. It is not that hard to tell them apart, as the older sports a short, clean cut and always seems to wear a stern look on his face, while the other, the more cheerful one who appears to have a better way with the ladies, seems to rather let his hair grow in, letting his black set of tresses grow all the way to his back.

No one knows much about the Kambal aside from their names and that they’re brothers, except, maybe, for the well-known fact that they work as bodyguards to the Diabolical’s proprietor, the elusive but supposedly dashing and enigmatic Alexandra Trese.

Not everyone has ever seen Alex in the flesh, but it is an unspoken truth to everyone who frequents the Diabolical that they’re every move will always be under her watchful eye.

That she simply stands on the highest point possible and gazes at the people who come and go, trying to tell something from another.

But whatever that something or another is was beyond anyone’s capacity to understand.

“NAIA? You plan to drive all the way to NAIA?” Crispin, the older and sterner of the Kambal, looks at the young man incredulously. The young man in question snorts as a reply, his eyes still fixed on his laptop.

“I don’t know, Gani, but I don’t think _Bossing_ would allow you, considering you’ve only gotten your license just recently, and even if you’ve been a remarkable driver ever since, driving along the Roxas Boulevard doesn’t seem like a good idea. Especially on a Sunday. The roads get too busy.”

“Besides,” Basilio adds. “Why on earth would you insist that you drive by yourself? We can always drive you there like we always did back when you were studying in Ateneo! Remember? We’d even pass by the Quezon City Circle on a good day! Say…” The man looks up and thinks fondly to himself.

“Why haven’t we been doing that anymore, _Kuya_?”

The young man gives a sigh as he lifts his gaze away from his laptop to eye the twins.

“Because I’m not in high school anymore…” he almost gnarls, appearing to be annoyed at the memory. The twins merely laugh.

“No, but seriously,” Crispin begins again. “Why do you need to drive all the way to NAIA?”

“Is the answer ‘I’d rather not tell since it’s none of your business anyway’ nice enough for you?”

“No,” Crispin replies. “Unfortunately, that’s your worst comeback yet.”

Basilio laughs. “He totally did you, kuya.”

Crispin gives his brother a look and a cold slap on his head. The younger only laughs more softly.

Isagani rolls his eyes in annoyance, his hands still typing away in his laptop. The twins watch him for a moment, probably thinking the same thing.

Little Gani, their Bossing’s youngest and possibly most normal cousin, has changed in so many ways.

“By the way,” Isagani speaks again. “No offense, but why are you guys facing me?” He lowers his laptop screen and eyes the Kambal.

“Where is _Ate_ Alex?”

Basilio was about to open his mouth for a response when the sound of footsteps scaling down the stairs was heard. The three men turn to the direction of the woman donned in black coming down the stairs, her eyes small and careful, focused on the three beings staring up at her, ignoring for now the rest of the crowd who may or may not have noticed and recognized her.

Alexandra Trese’s ever-present scowl lightens as she addresses her cousin.

“Isagani,” she calls, walking towards him. “You’re early.”

“Bossing!” Basilio greets. “Little Gani here wants to borrow the car and drive all the way up to Pasay!”

“Although he won’t tell us what’s up, and I told him it’s a little dangerous considering the state of traffic at Roxas Boulevard…”

Isagani simply rolls his eyes as he stands to greet the lady.

“Ate,” he says, holding out both his hands, but then he realizes how long it has been since he last greeted his cousin with a hug, and even if it was considered tradition between the two of them, Isagani still held boundaries, and settled for handshake.

Alex receives it formally, though the scowl did not disappear.

“You didn’t tell them?” she says. Isagani shrugs.

“I figured I’d rather not go around and blatantly announce what I do with my life, especially with people who have the least to do with it.”

The Kambal, instead of reacting negatively, simply shrug it off. This wasn’t anything new for the two.

Like Ate like _pinsan_ , after all.

Alex sighs.

“Well, you better do,” she presses. “The car is partly theirs as well, since they do most of the driving and maintaining. Besides… It’s not like these two are ‘others’ to you. They were your guardians, too, before.”

Isagani sighs and bites his lips. Then, he opens his laptop and shows a webpage to the two.

“ _Things That Go Bump: A Community Driven by Various Mysteries and Mythologies_ ,” the headline read.

“A discussion site?” Crispin asks.

“Indeed,” Isagani nods. “It’s a platform where mythology and mystery enthusiasts from all over the globe come to talk freely and discuss different topics related to the subject. Not so long ago, I began a thread conferring about Philippine Mythology and our Mythological creatures. I answer questions and straighten out rumors regarding the rather peculiar events that are happening here in Manila, and to some extent, other provinces in the Philippines.” He gives Alex a knowing look.

“Word gets around faster these days… I wouldn’t want the wrong news circulating.”

Alex nods.

It’s true. The creatures from the Underworld wouldn’t be pleased at the idea of their images being altered as word goes on, egocentric and self-righteous as they are.

Isagani pushes his glasses back to the bridge of his nose.

“It’s my way of helping the Trese’s in their cause.” He again gives Alex a look.

“I am still family, after all…”

Basilio seems unconvinced.

“Still don’t get how it’s connected to borrowing the car and driving it to NAIA and back,” he points out.

Isagani inwardly groans, but either way, he lets his laptop face him again, and then he begins typing. After a few seconds, he presents the screen to them once more.

A picture of a girl—possibly foreign judging from her cream-colored skin and evidently light-colored eyes—flashes on the screen. The Kambal’s eyebrows rise.

She’s kinda pretty.

“Miss Lealia Blanche,” he says with conviction. “A college student from the University of Paris, an Asian Studies Major, specializes in Southeast Asian Mythology.” He returns the screen to him.

“She’s one of my eager repliers. We’ve been under numerous online discussions regarding Philippine mythological creatures and our country’s various superstitions. Apparently, she’s been planning to go here for her thesis, and she’s been asking me to be her guide, even going as far as asking me to introduce her to Ate Alex.” He lifts his gaze and peers at Alex through his glasses.

“But Ate said no.”

Alex simply nods, signaling that whatever he said will do. She opens her mouth to continue.

“Unfortunately, my work is the kind that should not be part of any form of documentation, although I am still willing to answer questions forwarded to me by Isagani. Although I figured it would still be rude to not provide any form of positive response, so I allowed Isagani to borrow the car and meet with this girl at the airport and accompany her to her hotel.”

“Oh, I get it now!” Basilio suddenly claims, giving his brother a look. Crispin was also wearing the same expression.

“Why didn’t you just tell us from the start, little Gani?” Crispin continues, marching forward and handing over the keys to the rather confused boy.

Then, together, the twins chorused:

“Little Gani’s trying to impress a girl!” And then they gave him two simultaneous slaps on his back, laughing.

Isagani actually had the gall to blush slightly as he shrugs them away.

“Honestly…” he mutters. But the Kambal only continue laughing.

“Aww, Little Gani’s all grown up!”

“Seems like only yesterday, you’d ask us to pick you up from top of that slide in the Circle because you were too afraid to slide on your own! Remember that, Kuya?”

“Oh yeah! Gani had the loudest and shrillest cry of them all! Some kids even stopped playing just to stare at him!”

“Stop that!”

Alex’s phone suddenly rings, stopping the twins’ roughhousing. She gestures for them to pipe down as she presses ‘answer’.

“Capt. Guerrero,” she greets. Silence.

“Mmhm… Yes. I see. My boys and I will be there in a few. Yes. Make sure no one else enters the scene until we get there. Yes. Okay. Thank you, Captain.”

“Another job for us, Bossing? What’s it this time?”

“Two alleged burglars were seen bloodied and dead along the highways of Roxas Boulevard, by the Baywalk. Some witnesses claim that it was from a car accident, and that there was supposed to be a truck by the scene. But the truck apparently disappeared. Captain Guerrero wants us there to investigate.”

The Kambal, unlike any other human beings who would react with either a gasp or any of the sorts, smile excitedly instead.

Finally, some action around here in Manila.

It has been a while.

Then she faces Isagani, who was watching the scene with an undecipherable expression.

“You can borrow the car, but you’re driving us there.”

-…-

“…Victims of the ‘ _Sagasa_ ’,” Alex was explaining as they sped through San Andres Street on Alex’s white van. Isagani tries his best to listen his cousin’s explanations while still keeping a generous amount of focus on the road—enough to not let them die before even getting to the destination.

“They got run over?” Crispin translates, leaning forward from the back seat to hear better. “But what ran over them, Bossing?”

Alex peers at the twins from the rearview mirror, and from the way her eyes looked, Crispin seems to have immediately understood.

 _Engkantos_. _Aswangs_. Any form of dark matter hailing from the Underworld.

The possibilities are endless.

Isagani clears his throat to catch Alex’s attention.

“If I have surmised correctly, the ‘ _Sagasa_ ’ is that phenomenon you have explained to me from before,” he begins, not taking his eyes off the road. “Those behemoths that are in constant pursuit of the legendary ‘ _Itim_ ’?”

The older nods, though the disapproving scowl on her face seemed notable.

“What’s the ‘Itim’, boss?” Basilio follows up, pushing Crispin aside so he could lean forward to hear better.

“And what’s the Aswang and the Engkanto want with it?”

Isagani maneuvers the wheel, taking a turn to Roxas Boulevard. They could already see the marvelous view the Manila Baywalk has to offer, but no one was paying it much heed.

Everyone was still focused on Alex’s explanation.

“The ‘Itim’ is in infamous legend among the creatures of the Underworld, and to some extent, the Human World. It tells a story of a once notorious thief who was hated through the land for its devilishly shrewd nature—successfully stealing gold coins from various households, regardless whether it was human or demon. Then came a time when it finally met its equivalent—a powerful witch whom it was trying to steal from who caught it on the act. As punishment for its evil deeds, the witch placed a curse on the creature, turning it into a cat of pure darkness in color, and then threw it into the human world forever.”

“But despite getting the punishment it supposedly deserves, all the riches it has amassed from its long period of thievery remain lost and unreturned. Apparently, the ‘Itim’ had been able to hide everything despite what happened to it, as legend says that the thief only changed in form. Its power still remains,” Isagani continues, still not forgetting the bedtime stories his Ate Alex would always tell him when he was young.

Who in the right mind would’ve thought that these so-called bedtimes stories would actually become the hidden truths of the world he now treads in? Isagani could only guess.

 “The legend then continues to the belief that whenever someone catches the ‘Itim’, it will release gold coins as it squirms free, which explains why many aswangs and engkantos are in constant pursuit of the said creature. But no one knows where the creature has gone, thus began many groups of Underworld creatures’ blind chases, taking chances with any black cat they see.”

He reaches the edge of Roxas Boulevard and makes a U-Turn at Pedro Gil. Police blockades can already be seen, meaning they were getting close to the scene. A young face from the checkpoint guards recognizes the car and the face on the passenger’s seat, and it clears the path for them. It performs a salute as they pass along, and Basilio returned it with his own .

Alex continues again as she finds that Isagani had to focus on the road again.

“Now, we know that these creatures hunt in packs, as per any Underworld inhabitant would, and because they do, everything that comes in their way are caught in a stampede-like phenomenon—literally getting run over by the monsters. The results from being victimized by this phenomenon may vary, from the simple feeling of the ground rumbling and occasional sounds of heavy footsteps to something more serious—like death.”

They were nearing their destination. The Kambal began preparing themselves for whatever possible battle they might get themselves into—because, for sure, there will be one—and so did Alex. She turns to Isagani, and finds that his hands had started trembling as they clutched onto the wheel.

Alexandra Trese sighs.

“Isagani, as soon as you drop us off, I want you to drive straight to your destination, and whatever you, do not return to this area again. Take another route if you choose to return to Malate.”

“But, Ate…”

“Do it,” Alex presses. Then she climbs out of the car. Isagani was about to say something to her, but his Ate cuts him off.

“Stay out of this mess, Isagani. I mean it.”

Then she slams the car door shut.

-…-

Isagani travels his eyes along the new onslaught of passengers emerging from Terminal 3 in search for a familiar face. Although his attention was not fully committed to searching, for a large part of him still remains glued to the scene from back in Roxas Boulevard—the glimpse of gold and crimson. It was the last thing he had seen before Alex shut the door to his face after warning him to stay away.

So the ‘Sagasa’ was back… Who knew?

The boy vaguely remembers the same image from roughly 13 years ago, when he was but a little preschooler and his young eyes could not yet comprehend the looks of fear from his teachers as they ushered him and his classmates away from their playground. It was recess that time, so it came as a wonder for their innocent minds that Teacher Ray and Teacher Aida would push them away like that. He remembers standing on his tiptoes and peeking over the heads of his classmates—having been the tallest in their class—and there he first saw in their sandbox his first ever encounter with the color combination that haunts him to this day…

_Crimson and gold. Crimson and gold. Crimson and…_

A certain set of wavy hair moving among the crowd of passengers suddenly caught his eyes.

 _Chestnut_ , he thinks to himself with recognition. He pushes his glasses back to the bridge of his nose and then pulls out his large card with bold letters L-E-A-L-I-A-B-L-A-N-C-H-E were printed. He raises it enough to be seen by anyone who looks his way.

When he was sure that he was in her earshot, Isagani clears his throat.

“ _Bonjour_ ,” he greets in a low voice. “Miss Lealia Blanche?”

The girl looks around in search for the voice, though it didn’t take her long to turn to his direction. Isagani is taken aback upon getting a good look at her.

 _Dios mio._ When they said that French women could carry simple apparel like they were about to participate in a runway, they were certainly not kidding.

He uses his card to cover the lower part of his face to hide the mild blush. Not for the girl to not notice but for him to not acknowledge it.

Lest he proves the Kambal right.

The girl involuntarily sweeps away a strand of her hair as she did, tucking it expertly under her red bonnet. Her clear, blue eyes look up at his dark cocoa ones, and for a short moment, they were only staring at each other silently as the other people passed by them.

Then the girl suddenly smiles, and her whole face lights up in one instant.

“ _Monsieur_ Isagani Trinidad?” she asks in her rather heavy accent, excitedly pulling her bag to where Isagani was standing. Isagani smiles calmly with a nod as she holds out her hand and returns his greeting.

“Bonjour! It is so lovely to finally meet you in person!”

The boy takes the girl’s hand for a handshake, but what she does instead surprises him:

She leans forward, over the metal barricades that stood between them—quite tall, if he does say so himself—and plants a light kiss on his cheek. Isagani looks back at her in mild shock.

For a second, he’s forgotten how French people greet.

“A pleasure to meet you in person as well, Miss Blanche,” he recovers quickly, releasing his body from the momentary tension. The girl noticeably raises her brows at him knowingly, obviously impressed.

Even a foreigner like her would know how people like Isagani should react. For him to simply remain calm is quite… unique.

The girl lets out a giggle.

“Please call me ‘Lealia’,” she invites with a smile. Isagani raises his eyebrows in acknowledgment. He then opens his mouth before he could stop himself.

“Call me G—” He bites his lips in realization. Lealia looks at him expectantly. Isagani simply shakes his head.

“Nevermind.”

Lealia smiles.

“I look forward to discovering more of your country’s mythologies by experiencing the so-called cryptic wonders for myself.”

Then she turns her head to the side in search of an opening—they both realize that they wouldn’t get a better feel of each other with the metal barricades still in the way. She gestures at the open gate at the farthest left, and Isagani nods.

He follows her along as she fights through the crowd to get to him.

-…-

 “I apologize if I have made you wait too long,” Lealia begins as they were speeding through Andrews Avenue. “I never realized how hard it is to simply get your luggage and get out. So many things to go through.”

Isagani nods sympathetically as he eases his foot on the gas pedal. Lealia lifts her eyes from the Manila Hotel’s brochure to look at him.

“You don’t speak much, do you?” she points out a bit playfully.

Isagani raises his eyebrows as a response.

“Speaking while driving is not really good practice,” he drawls. But Lealia could already tell what he meant.

“I see you weren’t joking when you said online that you don’t take part in such trivial conversations…”

The corners of Isagani’s lips curve up slightly. She is definitely not wrong.

People’s times are too relatively short to waste in something as insignificant as small talk. And besides, it’s not like Lealia was an ‘other’ to him. They basically converse every single night since they first made contact in that forum.

Suddenly, Isagani was reminded of what the Kambal had been jeering to him a while back, and he had to veer away before he starts spacing out again.

Again, such trivial thoughts should not bother him.

“Well, if you’re not into such mindless concepts and you clearly know where we’re going, maybe we should continue where we had left off in our last conversation.” Lealia takes another stray strand of hair and tucks it neatly under her bonnet.

 “Is that fine with you, Mister Trinidad?”

“Isagani,” he tells her, taking a quick glance at the rearview mirror.

“And yes, that does seem like a mighty fine idea. Where have we left off?”

Isagani could not see it as his eyes were fixed on the road, but Lealia’s eyes actually twinkles as she looks up at him with an excited smile—the look of insurmountable curiosity and the insatiable thirst for knowledge. The boy would’ve related with it, as he, too, wears the same face whenever his Ate Alex would tell him stories from the Underworld before he goes to sleep. Back when he was young.

Back when Alex would still revere him as someone with the same potential as she, and not simply as a mere mortal who’s better of with his books.

“We were talking of the ‘black cat’,” she announces with a tinge of childlike excitement. “I was asking you of how the black cat is revered in most of the Southeast Asian culture. Unfortunately, we were cut off when you were already telling me about the superstitions known through your country.”

“Ah, yes,” Isagani hums, gently pressing his foot on the brake, slowing down the van. Lealia stares out the window and has to swallow a little at the sight of the heavy traffic before them.

Even if she’s heard of the notorious Manila Traffic, she can’t help but be surprised.

“But, you see, in most books, which I assume you have read, the way we Filipinos perceive a black cat is the same way most countries do—we are made to believe that black cats are considered ‘unlucky’. Explanations range from them being dark matters coming from the Underworld, witch helpers, or simply the witch themselves.”

Lealia snorts a little as she rolls her eyes.

“How American…”

Isagani raises his brows in agreement. The traffic begins to move, and he had to pause for a moment to bring the van back to movement. When they were speeding through the road again and Lealia could already not recognize the texts on the signs they pass through, she returns her gaze to Isagani who was clearing his throat to continue.

“Here specifically in the Philippines, we are made to stray away from our paths when a black cat passes in front of us. It is believed that you will get caught in an accident of some sorts if you choose to continue with your chosen path.”

Lealia looks at him with playful doubt. “That sounds like something lifted from a Wikipedia page…”

“Well…” Isagani lets the syllable roll over his tongue for a few minutes. “You have to understand that though said website is not as reliable as other sites can be, it is actually factual in the most general sense. And to have that fact about black cats be placed in there must mean many people share the same sentiments… It’s quite a universal myth.”

“Not in France,” Lealia points out. Again, Isagani raises his brows in acknowledgment.

“Ah, yes. I have read before that most of the countries in Europe, especially those of Latin descent, have this belief that black cat is supposedly a symbol of prosperity.” He takes advantage of the slowly accumulating traffic to peer at Lealia through his glasses.

“Supposedly gives you gold coins if you feed it…”

Lealia nods in response despite the skeptical tone in his voice.

“But answer me this, Isagani.” Lealia pauses, taking in the new feeling of saying his first name for the first time. She’d be lying if she said it didn’t feel strange—Filipino names are so syllable-heavy.

“Why do Filipinos believe that?”

Isagani raises his brows. “Pardon?”

Again, the twinkle in Lealia’s eyes returns.

“I’ve been reading a lot of books regarding Philippine customs and beliefs, and it has come to my attention that you Filipinos tend to explain things through mythological origin stories. I believe you people call it the _Ah-lah-maht_.”

Isagani listens as the foreign accent gives new life to a word he’s heard dozens of times in his lifetime. It made him smile somehow.

“Alamat,” he says, straight and smooth. “Legends. One of the early Filipinos’ ways of explaining origin… What about them?”

Lealia fiddles with her seatbelt’s rough surface.

“If it is true that the belief with regards to black cats dates back to the olden times, then it is only correct that there is a story that corresponds to it? Or perhaps, I should correct myself and say ‘stories’?”

Isagani thinks for a moment, racking through his brain about legends regarding the black cat, and it came as a surprise that he didn’t know any.

Or perhaps, he did, but it was overwritten by what he had just seen.

Again, his mind was returning to the scene from a while back. His mind is once again filled with nothing but that color combination…

_Crimson and gold. Crimson and gold. Crimson and…_

“Isagani?”

The boy immediately snaps out of it and addresses the girl with an apologetic smile.

“I’d be lying if I said I know all the stories in existence as there are probably millions of stories out there being told—taking into consideration how many cultural groups we actually have in this country. And, sadly, academic books never take into account everything. They usually take the most dominant or most interesting and that is what they publish…”

Lealia’s eyes remain on him.

“I have been reading through so many academic books on the subject and never have I seen any story regarding the black cat.”

“I’m not surprised,” Isagani replies. “Like I said, the myth of the black cat is not really something we have thought for ourselves.”

“But neither are most of your myths.” Lealia adjusts yet another stray strand of hair. “Yet you have stories for them…”

Isagani thinks for a moment, again racking his brain for something. Anything. What he actually says next surprises even him.

“Well, there is this one story my Ate told me when I was young…”

He takes a deep breath, not believing his own self. He had to make this sound as believable as possible.

“It is said that the black cat was once a young man whose skin is dark of color. Everyone from his village despised him because he apparently stole from everyone their possessions. No one knew much of the boy, except for the fact that whenever he is around, their belongings allegedly disappear. Having grown tired of his antics, the villagers agreed to cast upon him a spell—a curse that will bring him down on all fours as if to ask for forgiveness, but never getting any. And he became a black cat.” He puts his hand on the clutch and adjusted it.

“Since no one would ever let the creature get anywhere near their house, most visitors from other parts of the world thought it was because the cat was bad luck. And the word spreads…”

Lealia raises her brow, a knowing smirk on her cream-colored face.

“I find that funny,” she says. “Most of the myths and legends I’ve heard from your country commonly have some sort of moral to the story. You know… the lesson where people are supposed to learn from. Why is that?”

Isagani shrugs.

“Value-oriented country, I guess,” he throws nonchalantly, trying and succeeding in hiding the fact that he felt a tiny bit proud of himself.

That was one convincing legend he just made up.

-…-

A few minutes after Isagani took a sharp turn, reality suddenly strikes him.

_Oh no…_

He just took this path by habit without realizing it.

_That means…_

Lealia looks through her window in slight confusion.

“That’s strange…” she hums. “The unbelievable congestion of cars seems to have diminished significantly… Is this road closed or exclusive or something…?”

But Isagani’s eyes were dead focused straight on the empty road. They were devoid of any form of emotions.

But she could see him press the acceleration pedal carefully.

“Isagani?”

His slightly agape mouth closed softly as his eyes stared firmly into the road. He clutches the wheel as he presses the acceleration while mumbling:

“The faster we get out of here, the better…”

“Isagani?”

Lealia immediately clutched on to the handlebar by her window as she feels her body jerk back at the sudden acceleration of the car. She was about to complain when she notices the face Isagani was making as they sped through.

It was the face of someone trying not to be afraid.

She stares back at the road with wide, fearful eyes.

“ _Merde_ ,” she curses under her breath as she grasps on the handlebar even harder. She looks at Isagani’s side window and sees roughly the horizon, watching the sun setting, the reddish clouds seemingly following them as they zoomed across what she has surmised to be Roxas Boulevard (seeing that she was a bit familiar with the Manila Baywalk), and it made her feel a bit lax somehow. From her peripheral vision, she could see Isagani’s facial expression changing, and despite the fact that she was indeed fearing for her life, the look on his face—a mixture of fear yet at the same time, unwanted curiosity—somehow made her feel exhilarated as well.

She did ask him online some time ago to give her a show she can never forget.

“I’m hoping this is worth my going here, Isagani,” she mutters, arranging herself back to her seat.

There was a blur of black that passed through Isagani’s vision. His hands moved before he could think, and they both jerk to the left as the car turns sharply to the right in hope of dodging the creature. Isagani snaps out of it and begins maneuvering the car expertly, letting them slow down and stop safely by the side of the road. The vehicle halts suddenly, sending the two to jerk forward violently before being pulled back by momentum.

Both Lealia and Isagani stares at the empty road, taking heavy breaths.

“ _Mon Dieu_ ,” Lealia hisses between heaps of breath. She lands her gaze on Isagani and tries her best to smile.

“Massive skills in maneuvering, _monsieur_ ,” she comments playfully, but Isagani did not heed her attempt at flattery, and just retains eye contact with his steering wheel, a pained look on his face. Lealia’s enthralled face was replaced by worry.

“Isagani?”

The boy sighs heavily. “I can’t believe I just did this…” He slowly looks up and peers through car’s windshield, checking the empty road again.

“Ate Alex is going to kill me…”

Lealia stares at him for a moment, but her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of soft, inhuman whimpering. She peeks through her window’s side and sees a black cat limping nearby.

Her heart is instantly taken.

“Poor thing.”

The girl immediately opens the door and climbs down the car. Isagani is snapped from his loathing at the sound of the door’s lock and watches from his seat as Lealia bends forward and picks something up.

Thinking that he wouldn’t be able to drive around for the meantime with his current state of mind, he opts to do the same. He turns the engine off, adjusts his glasses, and climb down the car as well.

Perhaps the fresh air of Baywalk will bring him back to senses. He violently wishes it did.

Isagani slams the door behind him and sees Lealia gushing over a stray cat, cuddling it lovingly and cooing at it. He was about to say something about how stray cats in the Philippines are harmful and that Lealia shouldn’t feel too compliant with every animal she sees when he notices something peculiar.

Gold coins were falling from the animal as it tries to squirm free from Lealia’s hold.

Realization hit the boy hard.

“Lealia…”

He was about to reach out for her when he hears the sound of collective footsteps coming to their direction. It grows louder and louder until Isagani can almost feel the ground shaking. Lealia turns to him and notices his expression, but before she could say anything, she feels the weight of Isagani on her as he pushes her out of the way.

They fall roughly to the ground with a loud thud.

Isagani was the first to recover. He stands up immediately and looks around, searching initially for the familiar color combination. But he sees nothing but partial patches of gold, probably coming from the cat.

He turns to Lealia and sees that she hasn’t let go of the cat yet, and that the cat was still squirming.

More gold coins keep falling.

“Lealia, let that cat go,” he orders. Lealia looks up at him with questioning eyes.

“Why?”

Isagani raises his voice in annoyance.

“Just let it go!”

Lealia clutches on cat even tighter as she looks up at him defiantly.

“I won’t unless you tell me. You’ve been acting weird all day and you haven’t told me anything!”

She feels the cat squirm again, and she tries to sooth it by coddling its small head, again whispering inaudible words of comfort. Then she returns the same defiant look at Isagani, who was looking at her with worsened annoyance.

“This isn’t the time for this, Lealia,” he argues. “We’re in danger!”

“Why?” She continues stroking the cat as she fought back. “Because a black cat passed by us and now we’re doomed to have bad luck if we pursue this path?”

Isagani had to bite his lips before answering to the affirmative.

_Technically, yes._

“You’re hiding something from me, Isagani,” she continues. “And I didn’t fly all the way here for you to be all weird and secretive. If you’re going to hide something, then act like whatever that is does not exist at all—”

The sound of a loud, blaring horn interrupted her, and the two of them finds themselves in the path of a large pickup truck. Isagani pulls Lealia roughly to the side to dodge it, again crying:

“Let that cat go!”

But Lealia was not listening and only focused on the vehicle as it sped away for a moment, then swerved to a u-turn, and began speeding towards them again.

" _C'est quoi ce bordel_?” Lealia hisses as the two jump out of the way again. But the vehicle was persistent. It veers towards them again.

The two dodge for the fourth time, and the fifth, and the sixth, all the way until they were a good distance away from their car. Isagani tried his best to keep Lealia closer, and Lealia still held the cat despite its obvious resistance.

It squirmed and it squirmed and it squirmed, and Isagani could see the gold coins fall in heaps to the ground, though he didn’t hear any clanking noises of metal falling against pavement.

It was a surprise that Lealia didn’t notice the generous amount of golden coins accumulating where she stands.

“Why on earth is this vehicle targeting us?!” Lealia cries as they dodge yet another attack. “I’ve heard that your country’s full of muggers and thugs, but this is ridiculous!”

Isagani looks at her with shock.

_Vehicle…?_

What vehicle?

The boy turns to the horde of large, big-stomached gremlin-like creatures all looking at them with deathly glares, and thought vehemently to himself what would Alex do? What would a Trese do?

He knew he wasn’t any Trese like most of his cousins, but he was still part of Alex’s mother’s bloodline, and that should mean something, right?

Isagani pushes Lealia out of the way of one of the Engkantos’ attacks, letting them land on the grassy fields again.

… _Right?_

Lealia watches as the truck stops in front of them with a screech. She shrinks slightly, retreating closer to Isagani as four burly men, each equipped with either a baseball bat or a wooden stick, closed them off, all staring down at them dangerously.

“Stand,” one of them almost gnarls, pointing his stick at them threateningly. The two share a look, and carefully do.

“Look,” Lealia begins all too immediately. “We know you don’t want to hurt us and that you just need our money, and we can give them to you peacefully, so there is really no need for us to get too violent…”

Isagani looks at her with disbelief.

What on earth does this woman see?!

The Engkantos look at one another as silent communication. One of them gives a knowing look, smiles, and then nods. The rest begin sharing the same look.

Then they all stare at Lealia, sinister grins on their faces.

Isagani didn’t like the way they looked at her. His Ate once mentioned that there was a variety of Engkantos who were interested in taking with them beautiful women and making them slaves.

No…

He quickly pulls Lealia back and stands in front of her. The monsters saw it as form of hostility and the two who were holding wooden sticks immediately moved and prepared to attack, but Isagani stops instantaneously, raising his hands up.

The two sticks ended up simply pointing to his neck.

Isagani swallows hard.

“We don’t want to fight,” he says in a clear voice. “Heed what my friend just said. Just take our money and let us leave in peace… Then nobody gets hurt.”

One of the Engkantos grunts as a reply.

“You, leave…” it says, pointing at him with his bat. Then he gestures at Lealia.

“Friend, stay…”

Lealia inwardly screams as she shrinks even more in fear. Isagani firmly retains his stand.

“No,” he presses. “Friend leaves. With me. You… You just take money…”

He tries to move one hand to grab Lealia’s, but again the enemies found it as a move of hostility. They shove the sticks closer to his throat.

“ _Makulit ka_ ,” one of them comments, holding his stick closer to his throat. “Friend stays. You die.”

Lealia was horror-stricken. She looks up at Isagani.

The boy’s eyes are both closed, his lips firmly closed. She could see beads of sweat treading down his temple. His hands, too, were trembling.

But, of course. From his demeanor, there’s no denying that Isagani was no fighter. Lealia feels her heart sink as she eyes the thugs one at a time.

There were four of them, and although she’s taken on far more enemies back in her country, those were just skinny college students just like her. These were giant, burly men—and they had weapons.

She can’t be sure that her punches or her kicks can do anything.

“Isagani…” she whispers.

“Please stand back.”

Lealia’s face changes as she watches Isagani open his eyes and give her a sidelong glance through his glasses. They didn’t look scared at all.

“Isagani…”

The boy sighs as he prepares to put his hands down slowly. The two holding the sticks aims look at him with questioning looks.

“I don’t really wanna do this, so I apologize in advance…”

His hands suddenly gain speed as he quickly grabs both sticks, yanks them backward, sending the two engkantos to move forward, and then he throws their weight forward, sending them to fall back, their hands slipping from their weapons.  

Isagani takes a few steps back as he spins the two sticks in his hands. Then he eyes the enemies one by one. One of the larger ones holding the bat charges at him, and he deflects its attacks effectively with one stick. Using his other hand, he quickly hits tree vital parts of the monster’s body, and then he lowers himself and sweeps his leg around to kick the enemy’s shin and let it stumble on its knees.

The monster falls on all fours in pain, and Isagani takes that chance to use the monster’s doubled-over body as a platform, jumps, and strikes one of the taller ones on the head. The creature cries out in pain as it covers its head. Isagani lands just behind it, and he takes that opportunity to kick back, letting the monster stumble forward, to its fallen comrade.

The other two charges him at once, one with a bat in hand and the other empty-handed, and they succeed in stopping him for a moment, the empty-handed one grabbing his arms and locking them from his back, and the other attempting to hit him square on the face.

Isagani squirmed with all his might to at least free one hand, and he does just in time to deflect the hit. The power of the bat against his thin stick vibrates hard, sending a signal of pain through Isagani’s arms. He winces a bit, but succeeds in swatting away the Engkanto, and sending a back kick to the other to free himself.

“Behind you!” Lealia cries.

The first two has recovered and they too were charging at him. He tries to counter them the same way he did with the other two, but his body significantly slows down as he tries to attempt another powerful swing.

It’s been a while since he last fought, and that last time was during a sparring session with his Ate. His body is simply not conditioned enough for this.

Still, he was able to take any monster that tries to take him, but the more frequent he puts one down, the more frequent another one stands up to continue the fight.

He fears he might give in any minute now.

“ _Anak ng…_ ” he curses under his breath. He makes a cross with his two sticks as he tries to stop yet another strike from one of the bat-holders, and he kicks back at the other who was charging at him. Then, with full force, he swings the same leg into the monster in front of him, hitting it squarely on the gut.

The monster cries in pain once more. A shrill, inhuman cry.

He takes that brief moment of no monster coming at him to stare at Lealia, only to notice that one of the monsters had given up on trying to subdue him and started aiming for the girl. It sneaks behind her unnoticeably, and as it was about to pounce forward, he cries out:

“Lealia, behind you!”

A punch on the face averts his view of Lealia, and his glasses flies from his face as he falls to the ground. The monsters take this opportunity to disarm him. One of them walks to where he’s standing on all fours, trying to feel for his glasses, and crushes his hand with its large, green foot.

Isagani cries in agony.

Lealia tries to run to him but was stopped by two arms that caught her by the neck. It pulls her roughly backwards as if trying to abduct her, and she thrashes violently to break free. When proven that the thug won’t let go with simple squirming, she resorts to the most childish move she could think of, and bit the thug’s arm. Hard.

Surprisingly for her it works, as the enemy immediately let her go and let out an agonized, almost inhuman, screech. She takes that moment to take on a fighting stance. Not waiting for the man to recover, she immediately raises her right leg, directs her heel to the enemy’s right kneecap, and kicks hard. Another almost inhuman screech as the enemy falls back. Swiftly, she returns her leg down and uses that backward force to send her left fist towards the thug’s face.

The force was enough to send the enemy to the ground, unconscious.

Without wasting time, Lealia runs to where Isagani was being kicked upon by the other three. One of them notices her first, charging towards them, but before he could react, Lealia had already assaulted with a roundhouse kick heading straight for the man’s ear. The power sends him turning on his own and unconsciously swayed like a drunken man as he walked away. Another man tries to send a strike to her, and she dodges it with a quick bend, and in her hunched figure, she lets out yet another kick directed to the enemy’s Achilles tendon, sending him down to ground. The last one grabs her by the waist and hoists her up. She tries squirming and kicking, but the man was too big and tall for her thrashes to work.

Isagani, in the time Lealia had given him, was able to locate his glasses and one of his stick weapons, and he uses it to strike at the monster’s head, then its shoulder, its waist, and lastly, its knee. The series of hits forces the monster to let Lealia go, and the girl takes this opportunity to finish him off.

She turns and meets him with a strike to the face, and then to the chest area. The thug bends forward in pain, and Lealia takes that opportunity to send another strike with her other fist to his face.

The final enemy falls down flat. Isagani takes that chance to grab Lealia by the wrist and drag her straight to their van, leaving the four enemies lying on the ground in pain.

They reach the vehicle safely—much to their surprise—and as soon as they were in, Isagani starts the engine, and immediately accelerates straight through the empty road.

Screw that it’s closed. Screw that his Ate Alex might be there. Screw what other creatures they might encounter.

This is the fastest path they can take to get out of this place, and this is the path Isagani wants to take.

“ _Mon Dieu_ ,” Lealia pants heavily as she sticks her head out of her window to see if anyone was giving chase to them. The bodies and their vehicles suddenly disappeared. She immediately checks the direction they were taking and still finds nothing ahead of them

There was no one. The enemies were nowhere to be found.

They just… disappeared…

“Injuries?” Isagani asks between heaps of breaths. He grabs the clutch and almost stomps on the acceleration pedal aggressively. The car gains even more speed, and Lealia could feel the breeze of the seaside hitting her sweaty face.

She looks up at Isagani.

“I should be asking you that,” she replies with a tone of worry. She reaches for his injured hand gently, and although Isagani slightly winces, he still manages to retain the firmness of his hold on the steering wheel.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine,” Isagani assures her. “But I sure as well be a hell lot better as soon as we get out of here.” He momentarily throws a glance to her direction.

“So much for a first day in the country, huh?”

“This isn’t the time for joking, Isagani,” she reprimands him, finding something in her immediate belongings that she could use to treat Isagani’s hand. “We need to get you to a hospital, or even a police station! Those crooks might come after us!”

“You let go of the cat, right?”

Lealia stares at him questioningly.

She was going up against a bunch of thugs. Of course, she had to.

“So what if I did?”

Isagani manages a small smile despite his heavy breathing.

“No one will be following us. I guarantee that.”

“What are you…”

“A while ago, you asked me if I knew any legends that may explain why the black cat is bad luck…” He steers the car to a sharp turn, finally joining the other vehicles in yet another almost hopelessly congested traffic.

But rather than being pissed off, Isagani was pleased. They are free, for now.

“I think I know someone who can tell you a better story…”

“What? Isagani, this isn’t the time for that…”

“Didn’t you notice anything weird about those thugs, Lealia?”

“Isagani, I…”

“They all seemed to be too tall and too big for a regular Filipino, but they spoke the language. Plus, they create inhuman screeches. Why do you think is that so?”

“God, I don’t know! I don’t understand anything anymore! Goddamit’, Isagani, will you…”

“When the crime turns for the weird,” Isagani begins, his voice rising as his eyes grew bigger in excitement.

“We normally call my _Ate_ Alexandra Trese into the scene.”

The traffic comes to a halt, and Isagani takes that moment to give Lealia a knowing look. Lealia immediately understands as she too, begins to smile excitedly as she looks up to him with wide, curious eyes.

“You mean that was…?”

“I’m supposed to say no, but since you got to see them with your very eyes, Ate Alex has no choice but to meet you and explain things…” He returns his eyes on the road.

“How did it feel like kicking a bunch of Engkantos’ butts?”

“Quite exhilarating actually,” Lealia replies, fighting off a giggle. Then she lets a small whoop as she leans back on her chair in contentment.

Her first time on this country and she’s already experienced enough to quench what she thought was once an insatiable thirst.

This actually made her crave for more. She began having more questions than answers, and she loved it.

Lealia steals a glance at Isagani and watches as his cocoa brown eyes glimmer under the streetlights of Quirino Avenue.

Looks like she had made the right choice.

“That was some pretty sick moves you got there? And you were literally fighting with two sticks… Was that…?”

“Arnis. I would love to go into detail as to what this martial art is truly about, but I feel like you know enough to understand how amazing it is.”

“You simply must teach me, Isagani. I would love to learn it…”

“But, of course. I personally want to see how it would look merged with your form of martial arts. Was that the famous _Savate_?”

“Yes! I’m surprised you’re familiar with such an art…”

Lealia laughs giddily as she falls to her seat the second time in contentment.

“This is going to be a meaningful stay…”

Isagani’s phone suddenly rings. He takes out his earphones and tucks on to his ear.

“ _Ate_ ,” he greets. “What a coincidence that you called… How was the case?”

Alex’s voice was low and dark. “We were able to find out who the perpetrators were, although they managed to escape. The Kambal and I pursued it around Roxas Boulevard, and we were only able to catch up with them at another point. Though, surprisingly, they were left unconscious.”

Isagani’s lips curve up into another smile. “Funny that you’ve mentioned that… I have something to tell you.” He adjusts the clutch again.

“But a phone call won’t be appropriate for such a conversation. I’ll be taking Lealia to the Diabolical to meet you, and you have to allow her. Please. I’ll explain why later…”

There was a pause from the other end of the line. Then comes Alex’s dark voice again.

“Very well.”

“Really?”

“If it’s so important, then I don’t think I can stop you anymore. Besides…”

Alex took a lone time to continue.

Isagani waited as he stops. The traffic goes to another full halt. Lealia looks out as she raises her window glass and sees a tall building. The building scales up to a point where Lealia cannot see anymore from where she sat, although she’d like to imagine that it was high enough for the people on the highest floor to see a great portion of where they were.

And she was right.

For just at the top of that building, one could see the full view of Quirino Avenue, of the three-lanes from each side that crawled a few miles for every minute that has passed. Of the divider of the wide hallway that was covered with trees and small shrubs. Of the small establishments and houses alike.

Of their white van lost in the heavy traffic, trying like the others to get through as smoothly as possible, trying to get home, to where people were waiting to hear the stories they have to tell.

And Alex and the Kambal, from where they stood, could see them all.

“Ate?”

“…Well, you’re already on your way to Malate as it is…”

Isagani blinks.

“ _Ha_?”

“I’ll see you in the Diabolical, Isagani. And your friend, too.”

Before Isagani could return her farewell, Alex cuts the call and watches as the heavy traffic of Quirino Avenue finally moves a little faster. She then turns to her Kambal, who were watching her watch the view.

“Didn’t think Little Gani could see through the Wooden People’s illusion, Bossing,” Crispin comments.

“Yeah,” Basilio adds. “I thought you said Isagani was the only relative you have whose blood is completely free of any form of _majicks_? How come he seems like he owns the ‘Third Eye’?”

Alex simply sighs as she walks to them.

“I’m a bit surprised as well,” she confesses. “Although I must admit I shouldn’t be at all…”

She takes one last glance at the white van as it speeds through the highway.

“He is my mother’s nephew, after all.”

-Fin-

**Author's Note:**

> Happy, happy birthday, Cara! May you enjoy this new adventure that has unfolded for you!


End file.
